Playing their part: the role of physical activity and sport in sustaining the health and well being of small rural communities

It is widely recognised that the health of rural Australians is poor in comparison with their urban counterparts. Similarly, the role played by physical activity in maintaining health has been well researched and is well documented. However, little appears to have been published in recent years about the links between physical activity and health in rural communities. The objective of this article was to begin to address that gap. To achieve this, the article drew on research conducted in two small rural communities in Victoria Australia, and highlighted the role that physical activity and sport played in sustaining the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities in rural areas. Taking the World Health Organisation's definition of health (a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease) as its measure, the paper highlighted the many ways in which physical activity and sport in rural communities contribute to physical health, mental wellbeing and social cohesiveness. Based this finding, the authors suggest that physical activity and sport make a significant contribution to the health and wellbeing of rural people and their communities and suggest that further research is necessary to better define this apparent contribution.

Changes to (primary) school recess and their effect on children's physical activity: an Australian perspective

Headlines greet us on almost a daily basis lamenting the declining health of Australian children. They are said to be inactive, unfit, overweight and lacking in fundamental motor skills. It is a disturbing picture. Calls have gone out to parents to encourage their children to be more active and for schools to counter these problems by allocating more time to sport and physical education however, in both instances, there are particular problems to be addressed. One aspect of schooling that is rarely considered in discussions about how to increase children's activity levels is recess. This article examines the problems facing physical education and offers some suggestions as to how schools might preserve and promote physical activity during recess breaks.

Individual and organisational factors influencing academics` decisions to pursue the scholarship and teaching of ICT

This paper focuses on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) academics' perceptions of factors that promote and inhibit their pursuit of scholarship in their teaching work. It identifies critical factors that influence academics' attitudes, orientations and behaviours in respect to the scholarship of teaching, and from these builds a framework for understanding the interaction between these factors. We have named this framework the Scholarship of Teaching Support Framework.

During 2001 and 2002 a national project investigated teaching and learning initiatives in the major discipline of lCT in Australia's universities. As part of this project a mini-conference program was devised to elicit academics' perceptions of the factors influencing their teaching work and their participation in scholarly activities around this work. In total 83 ICT teachers from 29 universities participated in the mini-conference program. Attendees included staff members from a range of academic levels.

In discussions of aspects of the scholarship of teaching at the mini-conference participants referred to both attributes and responses of both university teachers and the university institutions. We have categorized these factors into those that relate to the individual academic (Individual domain) and those that relate to the tertiary institutional system (Organisational domain). Many contributions highlighted the interaction between these two domains.

Within the Individual domain, two key factors described by participants as affecting the pursuit of the scholarship of teaching were teachers' motivation towards, and their capabilities in, scholarly activities surrounding their teaching. Within the organizational domain two influential factors also emerged. These were the organizational support provided through allocation of resources and symbolic support reflected in an institution's systems, policies and processes.

Our findings indicate that both the Individual and Organizational domains contribute to university teachers' decisions to pursue (or not to pursue) the scholarship of teaching.

These two domains were seen by participants to interact within university environments to influence whether a particular environment is supportive or unsupportive in terms of the pursuit of the scholarship of teaching. Factors both from and within the individual and the organizational domains were seen to interact with each other forming a web of interrelated factors that appear to influence individuals' decisions to pursue, or not to pursue, the scholarship of teaching. From this complexity four theoretical extremes emerged providing the dimensions and components of the Scholarship of Teaching Support Framework.

We argue that responsive and innovative approaches to university teaching are best supported by academics undertaking scholarly activities around their teaching work, yet this article presents a picture of a university work environment where scholarly activities that focus on teaching and learning are seen as generally unsupported and unrewarded. This perception was identified as commonalities across a university system. Although some exceptions were noted, participants generally agreed that the organisational domain of Australian universities was largely unsupportive of the pursuit of the scholarship of teaching. Similarly, in general, university ICT teachers were not thought to have the backgrounds and capabilities necessary for pursuing the scholarship of teaching, such as familiarity with literature on teaching and learning and skills in educational evaluation. However, despite perceived inhibitors in universities' organisational culture and allocation of resources, and a perceived lack in individuals' skills, participants agreed that scholarly activities and innovation in university teaching and learning do take place, These are largely driven by the intrinsic motivation of individuals. It was recognised that further work is necessary to explore how motivation can be engendered and encouraged.

The Scholarship of Teaching Support Framework is a useful tool for examining how conducive a given university teaching context is to the scholarship of teaching and, therefore, can be used for review purposes within both research and policy contexts. Such tools will become increasingly important as policy changes begin to affect practices in how university teaching work is managed, supported and encouraged.

Trends in children`s physical activity and weight status in high and low socio-economic status areas of Melbourne, Victoria, 1985-2001

Objective:
To examine trends in active transport to and from school, in school sport and physical education (PE), and in weight status among children from high and low socio-economic status (SES) areas in Melbourne, Victoria, between 1985 and 2001.

Methods:
Cross-sectional survey data and measured height and weight from 1985 (n=557) and 2001 (n=926) were compared for children aged between 9–13 years within high and low SES areas.

Results:
From 1985 to 2001, the frequency of walking to or from school declined (4.38±4.3 vs. 3.61 ± 3.8 trips/wk, p<0.001), cycling to or from school also declined (1.22±2.9 vs. 0.36±1.5 trips/wk, p<0.001), and the frequency of PE lessons declined (1.64±1.1 vs. 1.18±0.9 lessons/wk, p<0.001). However, the frequency of school sport increased (0.9±1.22 vs. 1.24±0.8 sessions/wk, p<0.001). In 1985, 11.7% of children were overweight or obese compared with 28.7% in 2001 (p<0.001). Apart from walking to school and school sport, there were greater relative declines in cycling to school and PE, and increases in overweight and obesity among children attending schools in low SES areas compared with those attending schools in high SES areas.

Conclusions:
Declines in active school transport and PE have occurred at the same time as increases in overweight and obesity among Australian children.

Implications:
Promoting active school transport and maintaining school sport and PE should be important public health priorities in Australia. Current inequities in school sport and PE and in prevalence of overweight and obesity by area-level SES also need to be addressed.

The relationship between the severity and duration of physical disability and body esteem

The current study investigated the association between the severity and duration of physical disability and body esteem. A total of 748 participants (367 males, 381 females) who had a physical disability and 448 participants (171 males, 277 females) who were able-bodied participated in the study. The results demonstrated that people with more severe physical disability experienced lower levels of body esteem than people with milder physical disabilities and able-bodied people. The duration of physical disability was not related to levels of body esteem. Except for the face, people with physical disabilities devalued all aspects of their body more than able-bodied people. For males with physical disability, the unique predictors of high body esteem were decreased need for assistance, higher self-esteem, lower depression and higher sexual esteem; for females with physical disability, the unique predictors were higher self-esteem and higher sexual esteem. Overall, the study suggested that people with physical disability, particularly those with severe disabilities, may be particularly vulnerable to problems associated with their body esteem.

Multicultural education and racism: the case of Arab-Australian students in contemporary Australia

This paper discusses the social and cultural dimensions of the educational experiences of Arab-Australian students. It seeks to explore the cultural attitudes and the social experiences of Arab-Australian secondary school students from two schools situated in Melbourne's northern region. The paper seeks to examine how Arab-Australian students and their families understand and construct their own social and educational experiences in relation to schools' initiatives as well as wider social discourses. The empirical findings presented in this paper suggest that there are critical links between Arab-Australian students' perceptions of belonging, identity and citizenship on the one hand, and their attitudes to schooling and educational experiences on the other. The study's findings show the need for current patterns of multicultural education research and practice to incorporate more systematically socio-political dynamics beyond the confines of school and family factors.

Effects of a holistic health program on women's physical activity and mental and spiritual health

Intervention studies aimed at promoting increased physical activity have been trialled in many different settings including primary care, worksites and the community. Churches are also potential settings for physical activity promotion. However, little is known about the effectiveness of this setting for promoting physical activity, particularly in Australia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mind, body and spiritually based health promotion program in increasing physical activity and promoting mental and spiritual health. Nineteen women completed the 8-week intervention, and 30 women in a non-health related 8-week program at the same church comprised a comparison group. Pre- and post-program surveys assessed outcome measures. Between-group differences over time were examined using one-way MANOVA's. Physical activity was higher in the intervention group than the comparison group. In contrast to the comparison group, both mental health (depression symptoms) and spiritual health improved significantly more among intervention participants. The data highlight the potential for a church-based setting and holistic approach to health promotion as a successful means of increasing physical activity and promoting mental and spiritual health among Australian women.

Learning and teaching assessment: reviewing the evidence

The authors have recently completed a research review on learning and teaching of assessment in social work which was commissioned by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and the Social Policy and Social Work Learning and Teaching Support Network (SWAPltsn) to support the development of the new social work award in England. This involved reviewing relevant literature from social work and cognate disciplines back to 1990 with the aim of identifying best practice in learning and teaching of assessment skills.

Although assessment has been recognised as a core skill in social work and should underpin social work interventions, there is no singular theory or understanding as to what the purpose of assessment is and what the process should entail. Social work involvement in the assessment process may include establishing need or eligibility for services, to seek evidence of past events or to determine likelihood of future danger, may underpin recommendations to other agencies, or may determine the suitability of other service providers. In some settings assessment is considered to begin from the first point of contact and may be a relatively short process, whereas elsewhere it may be a process involving several client contacts over an extended period of time. The assessment process may range from the collection of data on standardised proforma to a flexible approach depending on circumstances. These variations permeate the literature on the learning and teaching of assessment in social work and cognate disciplines.

Several different approaches to classroom based learning were proposed in the literature including case-based teaching, interviews with actors who have been trained to play 'standardised clients', and observation of children and families, as well as didactic lecturing and various uses of video equipment and computers. Furthermore learning by doing has long been one of the hallmarks of social work education, and there are a number of models proposed in which students learn about the assessment process through conducting assessments. The evidence to support these different approaches to learning and teaching is variable. Based on the evidence reviewed, recommendations as to what is good practice in learning and teaching about assessment will be presented.

Complementary therapies in action - education and outcomes

A study investigated the use of aromatherapy hand and foot massage on 11 patients in a rural rehabilitation setting. An education programme for nurses, carers and family members was developed and implemented. Clinical outcomes - pain, anxiety, joint flexibility and skin condition were evaluated using Likert scales completed before, and after, treatment at three time points and open questions to ascertain patients' feelings about the treatments. Each patient had three treatments, making a total of 33 massages. A significant reduction in pain and anxiety was apparent after all three treatments (p=0.05). Changes in skin condition (softer and more resilient) were highly significant (p=0.01). However, there was no significant change in joint flexibility (p<0.05). The main themes emerging from patients' comments were that aromatherapy massage facilitated communication, allowed emotional release and aided relaxation. Nine people undertook the education programme. They indicated that it covered appropriate information and they felt confident to deliver the aromatherapy massages, but the non-nursing participants would have liked more practice before they entered the clinical setting.

Doing futures: futures education and enactivism

In New Times (Hall, 1996), there has been much rhetoric about school’s role in equipping students for the future. Futures education, or futures pedagogy, provides an interdisciplinary approach in which alternative futures may be explored, designed and articulated. Enactivism, as a theory of learning, affirms my contention that it is not enough to talk about the future. Rather, I propose that education must act as an agent of change, in equipping teachers and students alike, to imagine, critique and create possible, preferable and probable futures. This paper, then, explores the co-emergence (Manturana & Varela, 1992) of an explicit futures dimension, and teaching and learning drawing upon case studies of practice in schools.

Do what we do: a multimodal approach to planning and teaching

Quality teaching and learning in teacher education can be enriched across campuses for both the academics and the student bodies when focus is given to the development of dynamic ICT rich learning experiences. This paper focuses on the learning journey of two academics and their preservice teacher education students located on two regional campuses, 200km apart, and how planning, communicating, implementing, presenting, evaluating, and reflecting took place within a framework of collegiality. The unit, entitled, ‘The Literacy Teacher, the Profession and the Community’ was a final year unit within the undergraduate Bachelor of Education program. Specifically this paper discusses how a multimodal teaching and learning environment using a range of new communication technologies enhanced the both the teaching and the learning experience for our pre-service teacher education students.

Physical activity and television viewing in relation to risk and undiagnosed abnormal glucose metabolism in adults

OBJECTIVE--The goal of this study was to assess the associations of physical activity time and television (TV) time with risk of "undiagnosed" abnormal glucose metabolism in Australian adults.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--This population-based cross-sectional study using a stratified cluster design involving 42 randomly selected Census Collector Districts across Australia included 8,299 adults aged 25 years or older who were free from new type 2 diabetes and self-reported ischemic disease and did not take lipid lowering or antihypertensive drugs. Abnormal glucose metabolism (impaired fasting glycetnia [IFG], impaired glucose tolerance [IGT], or new type 2 diabetes) was based on an oral glucose tolerance test Self reported physical activity time and TV time (previous week) were assessed using interviewer administered questionnaires.

RESULTS--Alter adjustment for known confounders and TV time, the odds ratio (OR) of having abnormal glucose metabolism was 0.62 (95% CI 0.41-0.96) in men and 0.71 (0.501.00) in women for those engaged in physical activity [greater than or equal to] 2.5 h/week compared with those who were sedentary (0 h/week). The ORs of having abnormal glucose metabolism were 1.16 (0.791.70) in men and 1.49 (1.12-1.99) in women who watched TV > 14 h/week compared with those who watched [less than or equal to] 7.0 h/week. Higher TV viewing (> 14 h/week) was also associated with an increased risk of new type 2 diabetes in men and women and IGT in women compared with those watching < 14 h/week. Total physical activity of [greater than or equal to] 2.5 h/week was associated with a reduced risk of IFG, IGT, and new type 2 diabetes in both sexes: however, only the association with IGT in women was statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS--These findings suggest a protective effect of physical activity and a deleterious effect of TV time on the risk of abnormal glucose metabolism in adults. Population strategies to reduce risk of abnormal glucose metabolism should focus on reducing sedentary behaviors such as TV time, as well as increasing physical activity.

Measuring moral judgement and the implications of cooperative education and rule-based learning

The Defining Issues Test (DIT), developed by Rest (1986), measures a person's level of moral development using hypothetical social dilemmas. Although the DIT is useful for measuring moral development in social settings, it might not adequately capture an individual's moral judgement abilities in solving work-related problems (Weber, 1990; Trevino, 1992; Welton et al., 1994). In the present study, the moral judgement levels of 97 accounting students were measured over a 1 year period using two separate test instruments, the DIT and a context-specific instrument developed by Welton et al. (1994). The test scores are significantly higher on the DIT than the Welton instrument (between the instruments and over time), suggesting that accounting students use higher levels of moral reasoning in resolving hypothetical social dilemmas and lower levels of moral reasoning in resolving context-specific dilemmas. The difference in test scores was highest during cooperative education (work placement programme), implying that the environment is a significant determinant on students' test scores.

The dietary, physical activity and sedentary behaviours of Victorian regional secondary school students

The aim of this study was to investigate the dietary, physical activity and sedentary behaviours of adolescents from four secondary schools in Warrnambool, regional Victoria. In 2004, a random sample of students (n=712), stratified by school year level, was generated from school enrolment databases and 443 students completed a lifestyle questionnaire. Twenty per cent of students were physically active for 60 minutes or more per day; 28 per cent used electronic media in free time for a maximum of two hours per day. Only seven per cent of students met these two Australian physical activity recommendations. Fruit, vegetables and dairy products were consumed every day by 39 per cent, 40 per cent and 71 per cent of students respectively; three serves per day of each of these foods are recommended for Australian adolescents. Compared with boys, girls were less physically active (p<0.001), consumed more fruit (p=0.011) and vegetables (p<0.001), but fewer dairy products (p<0.024). Seventeen per cent of students were overweight or obese; these students were less physically active than normal weight peers (p<0.018). The dietary, physical and sedentary behaviours of regional Victorian secondary school students in this study were inadequate when compared with Australian recommendations. Dietary and physical activity habits are still evolving in adolescence and unhealthy habits can still be changed.